Corruption will keep India in 'poverty trap'

New Delhi (The Statesman/ANN) - Commending honesty, integrity and trustworthiness in the pursuit of development agenda, the Economic Survey 2011-2012 has warned that India will stagnate and remain in the trap of chaotic poverty in the absence of morality and persistence of corruption.

"We now know that a market economy cannot function if people are totally self-serving," says the survey, tabled by the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament yesterday.

"While self-interest is a major driver of economic growth, it is important to recognise that honesty, integrity and trustworthiness constitute the cement that binds society," the survey says.

"Honesty and integrity can be nurtured and aversion to corruption can be shored up," it says, and adds: "If these traits are absent or inadequate in a nation, it is likely that that nation will stagnate and remain in a chaotic poverty trap."

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